The invention relates to a seal for sealing a shaft passing through a housing wall. The seal of this general type with which this invention is concerned surrounds a radial shaft-sealing ring with at least one sealing lip of elastomeric material under radial pretensioning. The sealing lip is attached to a first leg, pointing radially inward, of an essentially L-shaped first reinforcing ring. The second leg of this ring extends in the axial direction and at least partially overlaps and abuts the outer ring of a roller bearing. The second leg is jacketed at least on the side facing the housing wall by elastomeric material and is mountable in the housing wall under radial pretensioning.
A seal of this kind is known from DE-GM 19 17 623. The seal is designed as a tolerance ring for mounting roller bearings in receiving housings. If the receiving housing is made of light metal and the roller bearing ring is made of steel, for example, this seal compensates through the elastomer for variations in tolerance between the receiving housing and the bearing ring. Dimensioning and selection of the elastomer is a function of the tolerances to be compensated. Particularly in the case of shafts lacking optimal roundness, for example, the drive shafts of a motor vehicle transmission, problems occur when the known seal is used. Sealing of vibrating shafts or those lacking optimum roundness is therefore unsatisfactory.
The tolerance ring abuts a hole in the housing via a rubber-elastic coating with radial pretensioning. The hole has a profile that meshes with the coating for reliable axial retention of the tolerance ring.
There remains a need for an improvement on known seals such that improved sealing is obtained for a longer service life. Furthermore, there is a need for improvements in isolation the and damping of rotating shafts. Finally, there is a need for reliable prevention of axial changes in position of seals relative to their housings.